Dodged a deer , spun the car hit some little reflectors . Two dents and both front fenders . No big deal , I thought . Called my insurance co . Adjuster came out promptly . He totaled the car with a cert. of destruction . Talked to D.M.V. , Once the adjuster reports the car as totaled thats it period .I can't even buy it back because the ins. co. disposes of cars through an auction house that sells to dealers only. Florida law sux . My point is , Do not call your ins. co. until you have some repair estimates in hand . Oh well , Live and learn . Looking for an 93 , black C package .......

Location: Chicago (Over two miles from Wrigley Field. Fuck the Cubs. Fuck them in their smarmy goat-hole.)

Posts: 26,317

Total Cats: 1,915

Florida law is funny...

I only found out about the Cert. of Destruction concept recently, and yes, it is pretty final. Once one has been issued, the car can never be titled again in FL. There's no such thing here as a salvage title.

OTOH, I'm inclined to lean on Hustler's side here in that unless you sign something and accept the insurance company's "offer", you probably still have legal ownership of (and a clean title on) the car.

As Doppelgänger said, did you sign anything with the insurance adjuster? If not, get some estimates, try to keep 'em under the totaled value, and negotiate with the insurance company for a lesser settlement.

If they're still playing hardball, and you really want to keep the car, you might have a chat with a lawyer who handles insurance claims. Obviously that will start to run the price up rapidly, and it's not as though black NAs are particularly rare.

IF you haven't signed and accepted, the car is still yours, the insurance company won't give you a dime and the car CANNOT be resold for use on public roads. - The other potential gotcha is now that there is a certificate of destruction, you might not be able to get insurance on this vehicle, from this or any other insurance company.

If you still have possession of the car, strip it for all the "fun" parts, then sell the resultant chassis for "off-road race use only"...

does the same situation apply if he were not at fault? say for example if i lived in FL and some d-bag rear ends my escort... insurance dude comes to evaluate the damage, decides the car isn't worth putting a new bumper on and totals it (meanwhile i have a spare bumper in my garage). would they then issue one of these "certs of destruction" and force me to buy a new car?

magnamx-5 ,You are correct . This is my first insurance claim in 36 years of driving . I'll know better next time . The car was maybe a6 out of 10 . They paid 3,800.00 . I didn't cry too hard . Just felt bullied by the way the system works . Looking for another black C package . Thanks y'all.......